Nautical rudder mounting



Nov. 14, 1967 L H BRAZ|ER 3,352,272

NAUTI CAL RUDDER MOUNTING Filed Dec. 17, 1965 United States Patent O 3,352,272 NAUTICAL RUDDER MOUNTING Jack H. Brazier, Fort Myers, Fla., assignor to Sears, goelluck & Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New Filed Dec. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 514,498 6 Claims. (Cl. 114-165) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE able by a boom sheet is swivelly mounted on the pulley."

My invention relates to mounting arrangements for rudders for nautical craft, and is especially designed for small sailing craft, although not necessarily restricted thereto.

A particular object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive arrangement for mounting a rudder on a small craft which may be quickly and easily installed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a ruddermounting construction which will permit the rudder to be easily and conveniently raised automatically as on entering shallow water, or manually or trailering or storage, without detachment from its mounting means, from an operative lowered position to an inoperative elevated position, which operation may readily be performed from either inside or outside the craft.

Still another object is to provide a mounting arrangement which may be quickly and easily installed on the transom of a small craft without reconstruction or modication thereof.

Various other objects and advantages may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this specification and illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention,

FIG. l is a side elevational view of a typical small sailing craft to which my invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, of the rudder mounting means;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 3 3 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view'showing fragmentarily the rudder, the improved mounting means and the rear end of the craft.

The numeral 10 indicates generally a typical small sailing craft having a hull H and sail S which is merely illustrative of one type of craft to which my invention is applicable, it being understood that said invention may be applied to a wide variety of other types of crafts.

Mounted on the outside vertical face of transom 15, as by screws or the like, is a gudgeon plate 17 having a pair of spaced integral sleeves 20, 20, seating anelongated pintle or gudgeon pin 23, the ends of said pintle as at 25 being bent to engage gudgeon plate 17. See FIGS. 3 and 4).

Rotatably mounted on plate 17 is a bracket indicated 3,352,272 Patented Nov. 14, 1967 l generally by the numeral 26, including a pair of spaced trunnions 27, 27 (only the lower one of which is visible in FIG. 4) rotatably disposed on pintle 23 axially outside of sleeves 20, and an integral plate portion30 seated within a groove formed as by rabbetting in the upper extremity of rudder R, the latter being of any desired or suitable shape and form. Said trunnions 27 and sleeves 20 serve in conjunction with pintle 23 as bearings to facilitate rotation of the bracket and rudder about pintle 23 and plate 17.

Extending normally through plate 30, as seen best in FIG. 3, is a threaded stud 35 passing also through apertures in the rudder and retained by thumb nuts 38 which bear against opposite faces of rudder R, washers 39 being interposed between the rudder faces and said nuts.

It will be readily apparent that the rudder may be r0- tated automatically or manually in a vertical plane about the stud 35 as an axis to raise or lower the rudder. Thus, when entering shallow water, the rudder will automatically elevate itself for clearance and upon contacting an obstruction, and the rudder may also be arranged and retained in a horizontal position, as seen dotted in FIG. 1, for convenient storage or for mounting on a trailer for transportation. Inasmuch as stud 35 is free to rotate with the rudder, the latter will swing up or down with minimum friction, sliding on plate 30 which is fixed against vertical movement.

The nuts 38 may be turned up so as to provide suicient friction to retain the rudder in any desired position of adjustment and at the same time to permit shifting thereof about its horizontal axis, as described.

Integral with bracket 26 and preferably cast therewith is a fixed pulley 40 for rotating bracket 26 and the rudder carried thereby about pintle 23 is an axis, said pulley being controlled from tiller T (FIG. 1) disposed in the cockpit by means of a cable C, retained in apertures in the pulley by means well understood in the art. Cable C may be disposed in an elongated channel-shaped recess 48 in the deck communicating with the cockpit.

On top of the pulley 40 is mounted a non-fouling block 45 swiveling coaxially with pintle 23 and forming part of a two-sheet system retaining a boom B. By reason of this arrangement of block 45 on pulley 40 coaxial with pin 23 no sheet loads apply any turning movement to the rudder. Furthermore, this makes for a most convenient and compact structure which may be mounted to the transom 15 as a unit, leaving, the deck entirely clear.

It will be seen that I have provided an extremely simple and compact structure for mounting the rudder as well as block 45. By reason of its simplicity and cornpactness the improved structure embodying my invention may be quickly and easily mounted on any type of small craft, and may be produced at moderate cost. Because of its simplicity there is practically nothing in my improved structure subject to derangement or damage incidental to ordinary use.

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art; hence, I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of my invention being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination, a rudder for small nautical craft and mounting means therefor, comprising (a) a support adapted to be aliixed to a boat transom,

('b) bracket means carrying said rudder on a horizon'- tal axis, whereby the rudder may be adjusta'bly se-` cured between a lowered operative position and an elevated inoperative position,

(c) means rotatably mounting said bracket on a vertical axis on said support comprising an elongated,

substantially verticalfpintle carried by said support, the mounting means for the bracket comprising bearing members engaging said pintle,

(d) said rudder having a .transverse perforation adjacent onextremity thereof, and

(e) clamp means cooperating with said perforation for securing said rudder .to said bracket, said clamp means permitting angular adjustment of said rudder about said perforation as an axis while frictionally retaining the rudder in angularly `adjusted position,

(f) a pulley xed to said bracket coaxially with said pintle and (g) a blockmounted on said pulley and adapted to swivel on an axis coaxial with said bracket, said block being adapted to receive a boom sheet.

2. In combination, a rudder adapted for mounting on a small nautical craft, comprising (a) a gudgeon plate adapted to be aflixed to a boat transom,

(b) a gudgeon pin carried by saidfplate,

(c) a bracket member positioned outwardly of said plate and 'having vertically spaced journal members rotatably mounted on said pin,

(d) Imeans on said bracket member supporting said rudder on a horizontal `axis and permitting rotation of said rudder in a vertical plane from a lower operative position to an upper inoperative position, and

5. A combination as in claim 4, wherein said plate is sandwiched within thelrudder, and the clamping means comprises nuts on opposite sides ofthe rudder.

6. A combination as in claim 3, wherein the rudder` rotating means comprises a pulley xed on said bracket coaxial with the pin, and a block swivelly mounted above and `coaxial with the pulley and adaptedvto receive a boom sheet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 439,573 10/1890 Baxter 114-165 952,462 3/191() Munster 114-162 2,631,559 3/1953 Jones 114-'165 3,269,347 8/1966` Koenig 114-16'7 ANDREW H. FAR'RELL, Primary Examiner.` 

1. THE COMBINATION, A RUDDER FOR SMALL NAUTICAL CRAFT AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR, COMPRISING (A) A SUPPORT ADAPTED TO BE AFFIXED TO A BOAT TRANSOM, (B) BRACKET MEANS CARRYING SAID RUDDER ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS, WHEREBY THE RUDDER MAY BE ADJUSTABLY SECURED BETWEEN A LOWERED OPERATIVE POSITION AND AN ELEVATED INOPERATIVE POSITION, (C) MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID BRACKET ON A VERTICAL AXIS ON SAID SUPPORT COMPRISING AN ELONGATED, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PINTLE CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT, THE MOUNTING MEANS FOR THE BRACKET COMPRISING BEARING MEMBERS ENGAGING SAID PINTLE, (D) SAID RUDDER HAVING A TRANSVERSE PERFORATION ADJACENT ON EXTREMITY THEREOF, AND (E) CLAMP MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID PERFORATION FOR SECURING SAID RUDDER TO SAID BRACKET, SAID CLAMP MEANS PERMITTING ANGULAR ADJUSTMENT, OF SAID RUDDER ABOUT SAID PERFORATION AS AN AXIS WHILE FRICTIONALLY RETAINING THE RUDDER IN ANGULARLY ADJUSTED POSITION, (F) A PULLEY FIXED TO SAID BRACKET COAXIALLY WITH SAID PINTLE AND (G) A BLOCK MOUNTED ON SAID PULLEY AND ADAPTED TO SWIVEL ON AN AXIS COAXIAL WITH SAID BRACKET, SAID BLOCK BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A BOOM SHEET. 